Author: SP9FIH

• Why not more on 80m?

My main goal is to give ATNO, not 80m QSOs. I worked almost 3000 stations on 80m FT8/RTTY and SSB (yes, SSB with EU also!). 80m and 160m are NOT my priority.

• Why not more SSB?

I hate FT8 but look at the poll on right of my site… I often switch to SSB, call 10 minutes without response; made selfspot, call another 10 min without response and…go back to hated FT8 emission.

I can ask you: why you do NOT monitor bands and SSB mode?

I will participate in Russian Contest and WPX SSB Contest coming weekends. I’m curious how many of you will call me…

• Why not 12/10m for EU/NA?

I monitor 12/10m. I have about 700 QSOs on 10m and similar number on 12m, mostly with Asia.

Solar Flux Index must be above 74 to have a chance for FT8 QSO with Europe. Sorry, it is not that number nowadays…

Early in the morning, half-asleep I saw some rubbish on the floor. I wanted to pick it up but it has gone… It was spider one quarter of my palm… Since that time I do not take any rubbish 🙂

We have warning of coming storm with wind exceeding 80 km/h. It will be on Monday. I hope my antennas will survive…

Liquor store is closed. Clear-headed society will protect us from storm. Police is patroling roads. Serious matter…

IT WAS VERY, VERY UNPLEASENT EXPIRIENCE BUT WE (me and antennas) ARE MOSTLY OK…

Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology:  

Weather Situation
Tropical Cyclone Gretel has now formed as a category 1 cyclone over the Coral Sea and will continue to intensify as it moves southeast towards Norfolk Island during Sunday and Monday.

TC Gretel is forecast impact Norfolk Island on Monday. Its centre is expected to pass within a few hundred kilometres to the north and east of the Island Monday morning and afternoon, with an intensity equivalent to a category 2 system, even if it does lose some of its tropical characteristics. The system is then expected to transition into an ex-Tropical Cyclone as it tracks to the north of New Zealand on Tuesday.

GALE FORCE WINDS, and DAMAGING SURF with significant coastal and beach erosion, are LIKELY to develop from late Sunday or early Monday. If the system take a more southerly path, winds may reach STORM FORCE in strength, with DESTRUCTIVE wind gusts in excess of 125 km/h possible. HEAVY RAINFALL leading to flash flooding is also possible during Monday.

Looking at the pictures you can imagine why Jim VK9NS settled here…

Ron – AA4VK ( VK9NN) and Will – AA4NC (VK9NR) made stop on Norfolk Island during their Pacific islands tour to make inspection of my (VK9NK) setup.

Because my Spiderbeam is not very high I lose signals coming with low angles. I mounted new vertical for 20m. It will allow not only low angles but also long path to Europe. So, if you are in Spain, Great Britain or Portugal you can choose short or long path.

Today I rebuilt antenna set-up. 160m is no more on the air. The same mast is now used for 80m. Measurements show good SWR on FT8 part of the band. Please notice that I will use Fox/Hound mode on 3569 kHz.

Probably I will make attempt for little SSB operation around 3605 as SWR there is acceptable.

Mostly I will be on 80m about 11:00 – 13:00 UTC and 18:00 – 19:30 UTC.

I had antenna exercise. During my work 160m antenna current melted plastic cord carrier and all wire went to ground at night. Strange , but SWR showed 1:1.2 and I operated of course without succes. It was in the night and I dicscovered damage in the next morning.

By the way of fixing 160m I changed configuration of 30/40m. Now I have single vertical for this both bands.